Potato digger and separator



March 1954 J. s. HARDIGG POTATO DIGGER AND SEPARATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 20 1951 H 8 m i M Q H1.//.. mm mm om O wmx ATTORNEY 9 R 0 MM W8 s 9 m March 16, 1954 J 5', HARDIIGG 2,671,999

POTATO DIGGER AND SEPARATOR Filed July 20, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 59 James S.

BY 1 WRM ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 16, 1954 UNITED PATENT OFFICE 2,671,999 Tlfi'f'fliifd if GER Aiw'h same-Aron James s. nardi Parkerstiirg, W. Va. Aphi'ieetieniifit 20, 19511,, serie'int. 'z'sji'sos *2 claims. (01. 55 -14 1) This invention relates to farm machinery, mere particularly to apparatus rer harvesting no atoes, and has for an abject to provide improved apparatus of this character. 1 I

There are farm machines in general use rer digging potatoes from the earth ahd ffiinmvihg them on an agitated perforated traveling belt to remove an earth .clihging theietb and dug u therewith. However, te the 'b'e'fs't of applicants knowledge, all machines dig up stphes with equal efliciency, but fail to provide any iheans of separating the potatoes froiri'the stone's. censequently it is necessary that 's' uch hes return the petatoes and stones to the s'ii ace of the ground, frbii'i when e the piitatiie's later are manually separated train the stfines incident to being piaeed barre-1s for training to steraee or market. 7 v

This hand picking 6f the potattes from the surface of the green stories have been ring from the ear 7 one of the pririiary' ujtiliztttiohs er 'manp. the complete petato farin g esicle, train .sfiih'ig plowing and planting t6 ran harvesting.

This seasonal eek afii ii'it r ie' effi' he reduced to approx mate y requirements if suitable niachi fy Wei avfiil able to autematieauy separate Zth fiifitat s and stones immediately erter fth'y' his one. it is an object of the present 'inteiitien nitride such machinery. I Y

Another object the ihve hon is to ifiiiiide apparatus for separating p tees fibtfi stb'iies Without inflicting damage the potatoes.

Yet another object or hie hvhtiiifi is "to iiffo vide apparatus adapted it)! use with ijxifitie'fii Giial potato-digging machinery ,foi ifieiiiifi 131i fefrom the dug potateee and stones and separating them.

A further object of the .iriventieii tie hithvide a modification fora eehveti' ging machine capable (if digging pg stones and separating tfifii 1m theiiiachnie.

In an elementary form, the present 'iiivehtihn comprises a container for 86H 71* 'ifiat having generally siiiiilar-haifadt U 05 a bemg of a specific ravity 'ihtfhidiat fin g5 Of potatoes and stones, together withmeansjerhgitating the soil in the edhtejihef that when a mixture of potatoes and s isetii iiheatiiereto the potatoes will rise to stirfaee' of soil and the stones will sihk'beiciwsiieh surface.

Throughout the spcifieatifis aha eiemis the term soir inehiaessahd eravah earth.- d1" and Both pjetetees and ether-materialseeaeiehy ts 2 te'iis'tic's, and any mixture of any such sand, gr vei, earth, dirt, oi"' other materials, and is not 'glii'hited to the sen in which the potatoes are growth. p I v Ahhthe'r object of the invention is to provide apparatus for continually receiving a mixture of stories, potatoes and the soil in which the potatoes 'gi'e'w, for separating the potatoes in the mixtrue from the stones, and for discharging the potimes at "(the point and the soil and stones at a eiiterent point.

Theseand other objects are effected by the pr sent invention as will be apparent from the following description and. claims, taken in aceoi'danc'e withthe accompanying drawings forming a part of the application, and in which:

Fig. '1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a potato digging and separating machine confs'tr'ucted accr'd'ahce with the present invention;

ig; 2 is fragmentary perspective view of a portioiiof the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2d a view Similar to Fig. 2, but showing a modification; v M

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the p'ot'atbseparating pettie'n or the mac ine or Fig. 1; y

g. 4 is aperspeetive view of the soil returr'iing fneehanisin of the machine of Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudiifial seetionai view of a portion of the machine of 1, showing the mechanism for agitating the separ g container.

Refer hg now tothe drawings in greater detail, afid particularly Fig. 1 thereof, the referene'e character I 0 indicates, in its entirety, a 'ceir'ibified potato digging and separating machine, the digging portion beihg designated A and the separating portion being designated B.

th aliahgemefit illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, petatoei gernis of a construction in general use-and henee shculd require only a brief description here. The digger includes a pair of suppi'tiiig wheels 12 joine py an axle 13 on tthieh isi'noiinted a frahie I'd- 15. An endless belt IB running on sprockets t1, t9 and it, in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. '1, functiens as an elevator ro the potatoes and stories dug up by the shovel 2-1 carried at the forward Of the frame members drivefr the elevator belt It i provided he sprocket I8 which is driven through a ti'afismissicii 22' {connected through universal joint the-power takeoff '25 of a tractor 26 whiehpims the digger Aby means of the tongue =I-L As indicated in Fig. 2, the elevator belt 15 comprises spaced bar-like links 16a permitting soil dug up with the potatoes to fall through to the ground. In order to insure satisfactory separation of the soil from the potatoes, the elevator belt may pass over irregular agitator sprockets 28, 29 and 30.

Side plates 32 and 33 adjacent the edges of the top run of the elevator belt 16 prevent lateral escape of potatoes until they reach the rear discharge edge 35 of the elevator. I-Ieretofore, when such a digger has been used, the potatoes and stones have been allowed to fall from the rear discharge edge 35 to the ground, from whence the potatoes were later gathered manually.

In accordance with the present invention, the potatoes and stones fall from the rear discharge edge 35 of the elevator belt "IE to the separator B where the potatoes are separated from'the stones.

As best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the separator B may comprise a box-like container 55 having a bottom side walls 52 and a front end wall 53, the latter being lower than the side walls 52,

as at 54, for a purpose to be hereinafter explained.

The container 50 is supported on a frame 55 for limited vertical and longitudinal motion relative thereto, by resilient straps 53 bolted to the frame 55, as at 51, with their free upper portions slidably received in slots 58 of the retainers 55 (Fig. 5).

Limited oscillatory movement may be imparted to the container relative to the frame 55 by means of the arm 6| pivotally connected, at 52, to a lug 63 depending from the forward end of the container. The opposite end of the arm 51 has an eccentric mounting, at 55, on a sprocket 65, driven through chain 65 and sprocket 5? from the axle 13 of the digger A. Rotation of the sprocket 65 will produce a degree of horizontal oscillation to the container 55, and, due to the design of the resilient supporting straps 55, the container will also have a degree of vertical oscillation.

As shown in Fig. 1, the separator B is drawn by the digger A through the draw bar 69, which is pivotally connected to the separator frame 55, as at 50.

The container 50 is filled with soil 82 of suitable consistency to a level determined by the height of the container front wall 53, which, being lower than the side walls 52, as at 54, determines the maximum level of soil in the container, as any excess will be spilled over the low edge 55 as the container is agitated in the manner previously described. Y

Preferably the resilient straps 56, which connect the container to the frame, are so designed that the bottom 5| of the container is inclined rearwardly with the result that as the container is agitated, the soil therein, together with the potatoes and stones fed thereto from the discharge edge 35 of the digger A, is gradually fed to the rear of the container.

Inasmuch as the specific gravity of freshly dug potatoes is about 1.1, that of stones is about 2.5, and that of soil intermediate these, agitation of the mixtures of soil, potatoes and stones during its travel through the container results in gravitational separation of the potatoes and stones, the former rising to the surface of the soil and the latter sinking below the soils surface.

As the soil, with the potatoes on the surface thereof, reaches the rearward end of the container, the potatoes are separated from the soil containing the stones by a grate structure 10 comprising a transverse bar H carried by the side walls 52 at their rearward ends and below their upper edges, and a series of teeth 12, carried by, and extending rearwardly from, the transverse bar H. The rearward movement of the soil and potatoes feeds the latter onto the grate 'l'll any soil passing above the bar I! falling through the grate 15 between the teeth 12. Preferably the rearmost terminal portions of the teeth 12 are curved upwardly to retain the potatoes on the grate 18 until they are manually removed by an operator riding or walking beside the grate, or are otherwise collected.

While it is contemplated that various soils will be utilized as the separating medium, it is obvious that some soils may serve this purpose more satisfactorily than others. For example, experimentation has demonstrated that soil of a sandy nature produces highly satisfactory results, and when soil from which the potatoes are dug is of a nature producing somewhat less satisfactory results, some operators may desire to use sandy soil especially obtained for the purpose. In such cases it may be desired to use the same soil repeatedly, and to this end the present invention provides means for separating the stones from the soil and returning the soil to the inlet or front end of the container.

As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the container discharge opening for soil and stones, at '15, has a lower grate it with teeth ll whose rearward terminal portions incline downwardly, as at it, so that the stones may be fed rearwardly and fall to the ground, while the soil falls through the grate, between the teeth El, and is caught in a forwardly and downwardly inclined trough or chute 88, whose lower forward end communicates with the inlet of a chain-bucket type of elevator 81, whereby the soil is returned continuously from the trough to the inlet end of the container for recirculation therethrough.

Where the soil from which the potatoes are dug is rather wet, repeated use of the same soil in the separator would eventually result in its picking up an excessive amount of moisture from the wet potatoes. In such cases it may be desirable to dry the soil, and for this purpose there is provided a manifold 85 (Fig. 4) adapted to be supplied with heated air or gases, for example from the exhaust of the tractor, or even with unheated air from a blower (not shown). The manifold 85 is arranged to discharge a sheet of air (heated or unheated) through a series of perforations 8B in a wall 8'! of the entrance to the trough 80, so that the soil falling therepast from the lower grate 16 may be dried.

In some cases, the soil from which the potatoes are dug will be entirely satisfactory as a separating medium, in which case the digger A may be provided with an elevator belt 155 which is imperforate, as shown in Fig. 2a. When such an imperforate belt is used, the dirt dug up with the potatoes will be continuously fed to the separator container 50; and the lower grate [6, soil return trough 80, and soil elevator 8| may be omitted.

If the machinery already includes these parts, the soil elevator drive chain (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) may be removed, and the soil allowed to run over the upper edge of the soil return trough.

While the invention has been shown in two forms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible 5 of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for the separation of potatoes and stones comprising, in combination, a frame, an endless imperforate conveyor supported by said frame, wheels supporting said frame for movement along a potato row, scoop means carried by said frame and operative as the apparatus is advanced along a potato row to direct a mixture of soil, potatoes and stones onto said conveyor, a container at the discharge end of said conveyor having an outlet and adapted to continuously receive potatoes, stones and soil, and means for agitating the mixture of potatoes, stones and soil in said container and for feeding said mixture to the soil container outlet, the agitation of said mixture causing the potatoes to rise to the surface of the soil and the stones to sink below said surface, whereby said potatoes and stones are separated, as the outlet is reached.

2. Potato-harvesting apparatus comprising, in combination, frame structure, wheels supporting said frame structure for movement of the apparatus along a potato row, shovel means carried by said frame structure for scooping up potatoes, stones and soil from a potato row as the apparatus is moved along the latter, a container having an outlet mounted on said frame structure for limited movement relative thereto, imperforate conveyor mechanism for feeding to said container the potatoes, stones and soil scooped up by the said shovel means, means for continuously agitating said container and the mixture of potatoes, stones and soil therein and for moving said mixture through said container to the said outlet thereof, the agitation of said mixture effecting separation of the potatoes and stones due to the potatoes rising to the surface of the soil and the stones sinking below said surface, and rake means for receiving the separated potatoes prior to discharge of the stones and soil through said container outlet.

JAMES S. HARDIGG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 938,256' Loufek Oct. 26, 1909 2,078,275 Prins Apr. 27, 1937 2,079,059 Winkleman May 4, 1937 2,265,537 McNeil, Jr. Dec. 9, 1941 2,529,023 Helms Nov. 7, 1950 2,535,801 LaPointe Dec. 26, 1950 2,559,965 Innes July 10, 1951 

